1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing device, an image processing program, and an image processing method, particularly to an image processing device, an image processing program, and an image processing method in which a group of representative images to be paid attention is selected from groups of time-series images of insides of lumens or the like of a subject captured in time series.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, electronic imaging devices for capturing images of an object have emerged in various forms such as digital cameras, digital video cameras, and the like. The electronic imaging devices are capable of continuously capturing images of an object in time series, and a group of continuously captured images of the object in time series (hereinafter, referred to as a group of time-series images) can be observed in sequence by displaying on a display device such as a liquid crystal display.
In recent years, particularly in the medical field, there has been suggested a capsule endoscope that is capable of capturing in-vivo images of a subject such as a patient, sequentially in time series. The capsule endoscope is a medical device that includes a capturing function, a wireless communication function, and the like, in a small capsule-shaped casing which can be swallowed by a subject. When being swallowed by a subject, the capsule endoscope captures images of inside of the digestive tract (hereinafter, referred to as in-vivo images) sequentially in time series at a predetermined capturing rate, while moving in the digestive tract by peristaltic motion or the like, and transmits the obtained in-vivo images sequentially in a wireless manner to a receiving device on the outside of the subject. After having transmitted a group of in-vivo images, the capsule endoscope in the subject is finally excreted out of the body of the subject. The group of in-vivo images captured by the capsule endoscope is one example of a group of time-series images.
In this arrangement, the number of images in a group of in-vivo images captured by the capsule endoscope generally becomes as enormous as several tens of thousands. For example, the capsule endoscope continuously captures in-vivo images in time series, at a capturing rate of 2 to 4 frames per second, for a period of time between the instant when the capsule endoscope is orally ingested and the instant when the same is excreted together with excretion or the like out of the body (about 8 to 10 hours).